Mike and Helen Cameron, co-owners of Uncommon Ground, announced on March 24 that they are retiring after operating the Lakeview restaurant, music venue, and brewery for 35 years. The couple is seeking a new operator to take over the business at 3800 N. Clark St., which they have grown from a single coffeehouse into a neighborhood institution.
The Camerons said their decision comes after decades of hard work and recent personal losses. “We’ve been through a lot,” Mike Cameron said. “A couple recessions, the housing market collapse, then COVID. We made it through all of that, and at a certain point, you realize this is a young person’s game. We started in 1991, so it’s been 35 years, which in restaurant life is like two lifetimes.” He added that both he and his wife are now in their mid-60s and want to enjoy time with family while they still can.
Instead of selling the building or closing the business outright, the Camerons hope to find someone who will maintain Uncommon Ground’s identity as a farm-to-table restaurant with live music and one of the Midwest’s first certified organic breweries. “We’re not looking to turn this into something generic,” Mike Cameron said. “We want someone who understands what this place means to the neighborhood and can keep it going for another 30 or 35 years.”
Uncommon Ground opened as a small coffeehouse on Grace Street in 1991 before expanding into its current full-service location with multiple dining rooms. Over time, sustainability became central to its philosophy; Mike Cameron described how early relationships with local farmers led them toward organic practices: “At the same time, we were learning more about things like growth hormones and pesticides…we wanted organic, grass-fed, free-range — all of it.” The venue also gained national attention for its intimate acoustic sets featuring artists such as Jeff Buckley and David Gray.
Reflecting on their legacy at Uncommon Ground, Mike Cameron emphasized community connections above all else: “Community is the biggest piece,” he said. “The emotional connection people have to this place.” As they prepare for retirement while searching for new leadership committed to preserving what they’ve built over three decades, Cameron added: “This is a great opportunity for someone…But hopefully they stay true to what we created.”
